I would need some advice. There's a strong possibility I'll move to Europe in the near future, which makes me sad in one part (I love the Everglades, the alligators, and the ocean), and happy at the same time.
But.
I have accumulated about 30 boxes of models, a compressor, and lots of books I would prefer to take with me. Selling them is not an option; they are much more expensive in Europe, besides it took some time to finally get most of the kits I want.
So anyway. Postal services would be really expensive. They don't fit into two suitcases - how do people move between continents?
Are there any good/cheap moving services that anyone have any experience with? Container shipping? Should I just pack my car, and have the car shipped? (Planning to sell the old lady...)
Any advice is much appreciated.

Hi Andras,

My wife and I are making the Indian Ocean hop from South Africa to Australia in 5 weeks time.

Basically what we've done is sold off all the major appliances except the dish washer (can't live without that ), as well as most of the bulky furniture and household items which are old or not worth taking. When I say "not worth taking" I mean the volumetric cost of moving the item compared to replacing it (make sense?).

We are using a removals company to ship our stuff over, but due to the small volume we're moving will probably only fill about a third of a 40 foot container.

In terms of freighting the car over, that can be pretty pricey. You should probably work out whether it's worth moving it over or simply replacing it on the other. Personally I wouldn't freight a car - I sold my wife's car a few months back and plan to sell mine soon.

HTH

Rudi

Thanks for the answer. Furniture, appliances are not an issue - I'll have a garage sale. But the models and books take up a lot of space. How much do these removal companies cost? How do you find them?
(Btw I'd travel to South Africa myself... But Australia scares the heck out of me. Good luck with the relocation; it's a major headache .)

That they do. Where possible try fit some of the smaller boxes (e.g. figures sets) into some of the larger boxes (e.g. AFV's).

It's impossible for me to tell you how much a company would charge you in the US, but what I can tell you (only from my expreiences in SA) is that:
- normally the company needs to pack your stuff for customs reasons - they charge for that (time and materials)
- they charge you volumetricly - so the space your boxes take up, not the weight
- if you're shipping in a container and you are sharing the container (i.e. your stuff fills only part of the container) you may have to wait a while before the container is shipped - they only ship the container when it's full.
- expect to wait a few weeks while the ship is on the ocean
- insist on insurance and value it at the replacement value of your destination country

About contacting a removals company, I was lucky - my father-in-law works for one. But I would suggest checking your local telephone directory or asking around in your area for a reputable firm - not trying to be a smart-arse, just what I would do...

HTH

Rudi

Thanks
Time is not an issue here. My problem was I didn't even know what these companies were called... I'll get to it ASAP.

to start, just type trans-atlantic removals into google, i just did and it came up with loads of companys!

neil